


three words and eight letters

by Underthegallowws



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Five Times, M/M, Mutual Pinning, Theo is oblivious, These idiots are in love, everything is about pov, liam is pinning, one-sided pinning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:35:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25939018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underthegallowws/pseuds/Underthegallowws
Summary: "And the sky can swallow his words, the wind can make him deaf, the universe needs to hear it. « I love you », he repeats, in a breath that disappears in the dark cold night."Or : five times Liam is in love with Theo and the one time he doesn't have to say a word
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 3
Kudos: 107





	three words and eight letters

**Author's Note:**

> So I had a bad day and I needed some fluff and this happened.  
> It's not perfect, but it's my take and that's enough.  
> Take care of yourself people.  
> Love.

_Theo trades carefully through the words, and ends his sentence on a high-note. He feels his heart squeezing for the half-second it takes his audience to react. And then, he is relieved at the reaction he gets. He just made a joke. A normal one. One he has heard someone else tell, and one he had really wanted to share. The small group of people is laughing, and he feels like he has won. More than a battle, something like an award. He has made it this far. He doesn’t even look at Liam, because he knows what those eyes would do to him. He is not ready yet._

Liam listens to Theo, who delivers the joke perfectly, and a concert of laughs resounds around him. Mason is bended in two, and Corey has one of those honest smiles on his face. Liam can’t help but chortle, and his eyes land on Theo’s face. He looks almost surprised, like he can’t believe himself he just made people laugh, not at the expense of someone, but just with some words. There is a light in his eyes, and his smile is genuine. He still carries himself a little bit too stern, but his face is full of emotions.

« I love you », Liam thinks, without a beat, like a fact he is almost too shy to face.

* * *

_Theo is waiting in his car, and the darkness of the night surrounds him. A few months before, he would have dreaded this moment, dreaded the fact that soon, everyone will go to sleep, and he would have to hide somewhere, and face his recurring nightmares. But today is not one of those days. Today, he is just waiting for Liam to finish practice, so they can drive to his home, do some homework, and watch a movie. The window of the car is open, and the fresh air is a good reminder that winter is about to lay its hands on Beacon Hills. The radio is playing, an old song that he hums quietly. There is no panic in his heart. And when he hears the footsteps coming closer, he can’t help but smile at the young, exhausted werewolf._

Liam is thankful for his supernatural abilities, because without them, he would probably be bed-ridden after so many laps. He still feels tired, in his bones, but it’s a good kind of tired. His hair is wet from the shower, and dripping on his coat, but he didn’t want to make Theo wait too long. He likes it, having someone waiting for him, because the longing for a pack is a hard thing to deal with, and Theo makes it better. So, he looks for the car, and his eyes end up on the chimera’s face. His head is bobbing to the music and his lips are articulating the words of a Queen song. He looks peaceful, like there is nowhere else he would like to be. The moonlight shines on his face, making him even more breathtaking than he usually is. And then, he turns to face Liam, and it’s hard for him not to let his emotions get out of control..

Liam’s heart beats to the rhythm of an « I love you », because it’s so easy to fall in love with someone who is worming his way into his life, one day at a time.

* * *

_Theo has to force himself to push the door, against all of his instincts. In his head, the dark side of his mind is shouting at him to go away, to leave, to flee. But he has learned, and he knows that he has to do this. If he doesn’t, he will end up regretting it.   
The burn of Liam’s words is still making his skin crawl, and the anger is still there, making it hard to breathe. Still, the pack needs him, and he will do whatever it takes to protect these people. His people._   
_And maybe Liam really hurt him yesterday, leaving him with a pain that is worse than physical, but he knows deep down that he would still give his life for the werewolf. It’s a terrible feeling, one that goes against everything he has been raised to be, but it’s there, in his chest. And when everyone turns to him, when he can see the relief on Mason’s face and the hope in Nolan’s eyes, he forces himself not to look where Liam is waiting._

Liam can still feel the words on his tongue, even a day later. He doesn’t remember exactly what made him so angry, but starting a fight with Theo was certainly not a good way to deal with the emotion. Because he knows him so well now, it had been so easy to provoke the chimera. Too easy. And when Theo had left his house, a part of him had been convinced he would be out of the state in less than an hour. Still, when he had learnt that they were facing a rogue alpha, he hadn’t thought about it, shooting him a text. No excuses, nothing close to a sorry. That would be for later, because Theo deserved a real apology.  
He is probably the most surprised of the group when Theo finally enters the clinic, his face tense and guarded. He came. Liam called for help, and he came. Like he always has done. Whatever happened between them, whatever feelings he was hiding in his sleeves, he came for his small pack of misfits. And if this didn’t show how Theo had grown, then nothing could.   
And Theo doesn’t look at him, but Liam wants to smile. He wants to tell him so many things, starting by sorry, thank you and… How can he express the way his heart aches at the idea of losing him ? If he could, he would say those three words. But it’s not the right time, nor the right place.  
Still. He looks at the young man, and he feels the « I love you » through his whole body, like a wave he can’t contain.

* * *

The fight was hard, and Theo falls asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow. But even in his dreams, he can’t find peace. For once, he doesn’t open his eyes at the hospital, but in the forest. He is back to the battle, fighting his way through hunters and werewolves, Liam at his side. But, contrary to what happened a few hours ago, everything goes sour. He can see the werewolf fall on his back, blood flowing from his stomach, his mouth, and his nose. In a beat of a second, Liam is dead on the ground, and Theo can’t do anything. His hand reaches for him, like a lifeline, but he already knows in his heart that it’s too late. He messed up. Again. There is a body at his feet, and lifeless eyes staring at him.

_Liam can’t sleep. He is listening to Theo’s breathing, a few feet away from him. And with every second passing, he can smell more and more fear making its way into the room, oozing from the chimera. Without a noise, Liam leaves the comfort of his bed to come closer.   
Theo’s face is one of discomfort, and it shouldn’t be a surprise. Liam is used to the nightmares now. They don’t talk about it. But he has been woken up by Theo’s horror more times than he can count. He wishes there could be a way to siphon the fear like he can siphon pain, but there is not, and he don’t want to face the chimera when he wakes up. He already knows how Theo would close himself up. He has imagined it. Every single time he has thought about doing something, anything, he hasfaced the possibility that the chimera would react the wrong way._   
_But Theo is still fighting against whatever he is dreaming about, and in a whisper, Liam hears his name. It’s the first time. He wonders if Theo’s nightmare has him as the bad guy. Maybe, after all this time, he is the monster in Theo’s story._   
_And then, there is a way Theo breathes out his name, painful and reverent, that makes Liam’s hand reach for his face. Slowly, carefully, he lets his fingers fall on Theo’s hair, and his lips whisper things he might never be able to say out loud._   
_« It’s okay. Theo. It’s okay. You’re fine. I’m here. »_   
_It shouldn’t sound like a declaration._

* * *

_Theo is laughing whole-heartedly when the words are pronounced for the first time. It’s a whisper, a soft spell almost kept secret, between the howling of the wind and the splashing of the rain around him. He feels the driblets on his cheeks, the cold water against his skin, the electrical energy through in his whole body. Theo is at home, like he was born from a tempest, the son of a hurricane.   
He feels Liam’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t seem to care. He isn’t afraid of what the werewolf is going to think of him. Liam is not a threat, and he won’t make fun of him for this. So he just lives his moment, taking everything in, and enjoying every second, painfully aware of how short happiness can be._

Liam is looking at Theo, taking in how the storm seems to only shower him with happiness. He looks at the chimera, spinning around in the middle of a dark street. He seems so carefree, so young, and so innocent. He is the kid he never had the chance to be, and a dangerous creature who loves thunder too much. He is the most beautiful and dangerous thing Liam has ever seen.

“I love you”, the werewolf finally whispers, like a prayer to the sky. Because there is no denying it anymore. Because it just makes sense, and Theo might be lethal, but he becomes the goofiest person alive every time he has a chance to feel rain fall on him. He is the missing piece of Liam’s happiness, and the sky can swallow his words, the wind can make him deaf, the universe needs to hear it. « I love you », he repeats, in a breath that disappears in the dark cold night.

* * *

In the end, it’s the small things that get him. The way Theo smiles at him, the way he is always looking for him when he enters the room, the way he seems so at ease when they are together in his car, the way he doesn’t let go when Liam wolfs out, the way… Just the way he is.  
And it becomes more and more painful every day, to hide this feeling, harder with each stare, each laugh, each word.

So he tries to contain it, to control himself. But it’s so hard when Theo’s driving, the wind ruffling through his hair, and he is singing along with the last hit and…

« You’re awfully quiet. »

Theo looks at him, and Liam’s mind flashes him the memory of another car-ride, another time. A time when he felt so lost, so afraid of himself. It’s kind of sad that, months later, he still has to refrain an emotion bursting through him. Another emotion, but still a battle he has to fight every single day. He looks at the autoradio, trying to catch the name of the song.

« I’m thinking. »

« That’s an event. »

« Asshole. »

Theo glances at him again, and he is smiling, and looking at Liam like he is everything, and holds every answer of every question on earth.

« Come on. I know you love me. »

Liam swallows hard, and panic start creeping up on him. But before he has a chance to find a comeback, any comeback, Theo’s eyes are on the road again, and the _bastard_ is still smiling. And then, he whispers five words, his heart not missing a single beat. There might be music playing, and the motor running, but it’s impossible to miss those words coming from the chimera’s sweet mouth.

«… I love you too, Liam. »


End file.
